Scripture

Psalm 131 (NLT)

LORD, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty. I don’t concern myself with matters too great or too awesome for me to grasp.

Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself, like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother’s milk. Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me.

O Israel, put your hope in the LORD—now and always.

Consider

This psalm is a song for pilgrims on their way to worship the Lord in Jerusalem. There is speculation that the author was a woman, particularly a mother who has nursed a child at her breast and so has deep experience of the weaned child’s contentment and trust.

She invites us into this picture of contentment by pointing out what keeps us from resting and trusting in the Lord.

“My heart is not proud.” The heart represents the whole person: thoughts, feelings, attitudes, intentions. At the core of one’s proud heart is the fear of being insignificant. The bigger we inflate ourselves, the more we fear exposure and the harder we must work to shore up our false sense of importance. A humble heart has at its core the secure knowledge that as children created and nurtured by our loving God, we are significant in every way that matters.

“My eyes are not haughty.” Here the author addresses the way we treat others. “Haughty eyes” look down on others from a superior position. As with a proud heart, there is a core of uneasiness in this arrogant viewpoint. We cannot rest if we are constantly assessing others, looking for flaws that will make us look better by comparison. Humble eyes can appreciate others without measuring or judging because we know God determines our worth.

“I don’t concern myself with matters too great or too awesome for me to grasp.” Scripture makes it clear that God’s thoughts are far above our own. Yet in prideful ambition to be like God, we challenge God’s sovereignty. We judge God’s performance and think we could do better. In humble ambition we admit we are finite, ignorant, and utterly dependent on God’s grace. Instead of overreaching our abilities, we trust God’s plan for the world and look for our place in his reconciling work.

The psalmist calls on us to rest in God like a little child, no longer desperate and fearful but content in the reality of our humble dependence on an almighty God who loves and cares for us.

Pray

FATHER, I am astonished to realize how many conflicts in my life can be traced to my inflated ego, arrogant disdain of others, or rebellious desire to break away from you and go my own way. Help me to learn the wisdom of humility and to give up my proud strivings that only agitate and defeat me. Teach me to find rest in your arms like a contented child.

Reflect

Isaiah 55:8; Matthew 18:4

Ponder

Is there someone in your life to whom you feel superior? What might your humble eyes see that your haughty eyes miss?